I'm in the VERY early stages of planning a 10-12 day trip to Puglia for sometime in April/May. I'm trying to figure out a good home base for 3-4 days for day trips. I'm torn between Trani, Monopoli and Polignano Al Mare as out base in the south. Right now I'm thinking our day trips would include Locorotondo, Martina Franca, Cisternino, Ostuni, Ceglie Messapica and Alberobello. We're not set on being on the coast, but those three seem to have better access if we decide to take the train to Bari and/or Lecce. I'm leery of staying in Alberobello, but the idea of staying in a trullo sounds kind of cool. For reference we LOVED staying in Ortigia in Syracuse, so finding a place with that sort of a feel would be wonderful. We will have a car, so a place with some parking (even if it means a 10 minute walk) is a must.
Posted by
11485 posts
We used Polignano a Mare as a base and stayed there for ten days. Beautiful place, loved it there.
We loved Ortigia too. Polignano is much larger but has an old town area. Adriatic Sea views. On train line.
Posted by
Idaho, USA
7638 posts
Hi Marcus, I’m going to be in the Puglia region next May. I’m traveling differently than you since I’m staying in several cities for a few nights each, but I want to mention a festival you might want to attend. If you’re in the vicinity, Bari is having their San Nicholas festival May 7-9. I’m going to be there May 8 and leave on the 10th to stay overnight at Alberobello.
There are trulli beyond Alberobello. I’m also staying in one in Martina Franca, and since you have a car, you could even decide to rent one that’s between cities. There were a lot of charming choices for lodging in most of the cities when I reserved them a few months ago, so you can probably still find some unique B&B or similar to enjoy.
Posted by
USA
3 posts
Just wanted to know, for how many days you planning for vacation.?
Posted by
North Italy
371 posts
Trani is definitely my favourite of the three coastal towns you mention because it has a more authentic feel to it. A fantastic place with locals going about their business not just tourists about.
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2023/04/why-i-love-trani.html
But in this case it doesn't make sense because it's further north from all the places you want to day trip to.
To visit the places you mentioned we stayed in an Airbnb in the countryside near Fasano. This worked well for day trips because we didn't have to tackle traffic getting out and back to a town morning and evening. As mentioned above there are lots of trulli where you can stay in the area, not just in Alberobello. You could still go to Bari or Lecce by train - just drive and park at the nearest station, Fasano and Ostuni are in the countryside not in the town for example.
Just a thought. Otherwise I'd choose Monopoli, nicer for wandering around, and again, closer to the places you'd want to visit.